Story
Hello and welcome to my fundraising page. Having been on the fundraising road for GOSH in Emma's name for over 10 years now I needed to attempt something pretty special for what is likely to be my 'finale' (I can't keep this up in my 60s... can I?).
So having signed up to a full distance ironman triathlon at Challenge Roth with a largely new team for 2026 (I have managed to persuade 11 to do Roth with me this year) my lottery ticket (literally 125/8000 chance) came up for a place in the mighty Norseman, an extreme ironman distance triathlon race in Norway with only 250 entries. Norseman is like Roth in terms of distance only more gnarly. For the Norseman, you have to jump off a ferry into a very cold Fiord in the middle of the night & swim 3.8km back to shore before attempting a 180km bike across a mountain range with 3000m of climbing and then 'run' a marathon up a mountain with 2000m of climbing. The moto of Norseman is 'this is not for you'! Roth is the same but a warm canal swim, 1600m of elevation on the 180km bike and a relatively flat marathon (not to be underestimated!). To make it a little more spicy, the races are just four weeks apart one on 5th July and one on 2nd August 2026! So the Double challenge was born.
I can't say I'm really ready but I'm trained and my injuries are at an acceptable level as might be expected with a body best described as vintage. I have an exceptional team at Roth all joining for the full distance fun and a crack crew to keep me safe at the Norseman (thank you to all of them).
Whilst this journey started over 10 years ago the memory of our beautiful Emma remains undiminished and really does keep me going. That and knowing there are families today at Great Ormond Street Hospital in the same position that we found ourselves with Emma. The support of the hospital staff and the charity are critical to the care they receive and that sadly needs charity support as government funding only goes so far.
After many years of fundraising, Team Hatch has raised over £1million for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, in loving memory of Emma and we aren't stopping there. Everyone at Roth is doing their bit and fundraising and the support we receive from pro-triathletes Laura Siddall and Zack Cooper is amazing - thanks to everyone.
If you feel you can contribute to my fundraising for the Double I would really appreciate it - I promise to update you on progress and of course you can follow along on the team's instagram page @team_hatch
A BIG thank you - lets GOOOOOOOOO!
Hatch MBE